The New York Giants: 8 More Games of Misery
2024 NFL Munich Game: Giants v. Panthers (Photo via New York Giants)
By John Towey, Staff Writer
What was supposed to be a celebration of 100 years of the most storied franchises in the National Football League has turned into an unmitigated disaster for the New York Giants.
The season started rough. In week one, they were humiliated at home by the Minnesota Vikings. Then, they lost to the Washington Commanders on the road after kicker Graham Gano suffered a hamstring injury.
Things began to look up for the Giants in week three. They upset the Cleveland Browns and notched eight sacks against Deshaun Watson. While they lost to the Cowboys, their defense had a solid performance. Despite injuries to star wide receiver Malik Nabers and starting running back Devin Singletary, the Giants upset the 3-1 Seattle Seahawks with an all-around outstanding performance on offense, defense, and special teams.
The turning point for the season happened during the week seven game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Giants’ offense looked completely lost against the Bengals’ sub-par (at best) defense. This was incredibly frustrating because the Giants’ defense held the Bengals to just 17 points after the Bengals had put up over 30 points per game the previous three weeks.
Their struggle continued against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants suffered a 28-3 defeat at home against the Philadelphia Eagles, leading to the benching of quarterback Daniel Jones for backup Drew Lock. This looked even worse for the Giants because Daniel Jones got a big contract last year while star running back Saquon Barkley went to the Eagles in free agency.
The loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was especially aggravating. Similarly to the Cowboys and Bengals games, the defense kept the Giants in it but their offense, specifically the quarterback, could not make any game changing plays.
The New York Giants suffered another humiliating loss this week, this time being swept by the Washington Commanders. Their secondary had completely given up, the pass rush and run defense were non-existent, the O-line was shoddy and Daniel Jones was somehow the least of all their problems.
Between star left tackle Andrew Thomas’s season-ending injury and several critical players, like Gano and outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, ending up on IR, there is now a sense of hopelessness about this season.
How Did the Giants Get Here?
In short, coaching turnover, years of poor drafting and ill-advised roster moves have created an entirely dysfunctional organization in East Rutherford.
The Giants have struggled with coaching turnover ever since Tom Coughlin, a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach, was asked to step down in 2016. His successor, Ben McAdoo, was fired after just one and a half seasons. After him, coaches Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge were both shown the door after just two seasons each.
Former general manager Dave Gettleman probably set the team back 20 years when drafted Barkley with the second overall pick in 2018 despite quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson being available. Hoping to save his job in 2019, he reached and drafted Jones sixth overall. When Gettleman retired in disgrace in 2022, he left the team in such a bad financial situation that the first decision new GM Joe Schoen had to make was to release cornerback James Bradberry.
The 2022 hiring of Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll saw immediate success with a 7-2 start and a win in the wildcard round of the playoffs. Things fell apart in 2023; several key players were injured, offensive play calling was not good and tension between Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale looked like it was going to boil over.
Still, the team played hard to the end of last season, notching an impressive win against the Green Bay Packers in prime time and humiliating the Eagles in the last week of the season.
That’s what makes this team so disappointing; there is no reason Tommy DeVito and Isiah Hodgins played better than Jones and Nabers are playing now. The Giants have a roster that is vastly improved from last year, but nothing is clicking.
Where Do They Go Now?
First of all, the team should not fire Daboll. Last year he proved he could still out-coach other teams even with an injury-riddled roster. The offense has improved now that he has taken over play-calling this season. Owner John Mara has indicated he does not plan on making any changes this offseason, though he said the same thing about McAdoo (who didn’t make it to the end of that season). Hopefully, he has learned his lesson after going through four coaches in seven years.
Schoen, despite some questionable draft picks in previous years, looks like he has outdone himself with the 2024 draft class. Each player has shown up big time throughout the season. As for free agency, it was the right decision to let Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney walk, as difficult as it may be to see them thrive on other teams. Like Daboll, he should get to stick around for at least another year.
It is time to bench Jones. He has been playing just well enough to keep the starting job, but the injury clause in his contract, guaranteeing him $23 million next season, is too risky for the future of the team. The team should bench him now and release him at the end of the season.
Once the season ends, the first move the Giants have to make is to address the quarterback situation. Teams rally around quarterbacks that create success. Just look at the Commanders. Ideally, the Giants should draft a new quarterback. Last year, no teams were willing to trade down with the Giants in the draft.
If drafting a quarterback is not an option, the Giants should be aggressive in free agency. Russell Wilson and Sam Darnold would each be suitable bridge quarterbacks until the Giants find their franchise guy.
Aside from quarterback, the biggest needs on the team are defensive tackle and cornerback. Since Leonard Williams was traded last season, the Giants’ run defense hasn’t been the same, and Dexter Lawrence cannot handle it alone. The Giants’ D-line would be greatly improved with another high-quality defensive tackle. Second-year cornerback Deonte Banks still has promise, but he needs to repair his confidence and be paired with a veteran presence.
If the Giants address quarterback and defensive tackle in the draft, while adding to the cornerback room in free agency, there may still be hope for this team.
Until then, Giants, please just tank.
